‘Raj can move court if he doesn’t like our policies’

The war of words between Raj Thackeray and the state election commission continued on Wednesday, with state election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan telling the MNS chief to challenge her decisions in court, instead of dishonouring her constitutional status by criticising her to the media.

The war of words between Raj Thackeray and the state election commission continued on Wednesday, with state election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan telling the MNS chief to challenge her decisions in court, instead of dishonouring her constitutional status by criticising her to the media. “He may please move court if he doesn’t like our decisions or policies,” she said, calling his ways “unconstitutional.”

Her comments come a day after Thackeray, at a press conference, asked whether Satyanarayan would not punish him for code of conduct violation if he tendered an unconditional apology to the SEC. The comment was veiled reference to the body’s clean chit to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, accused of violating the code for inaugurating a Pune flyover after the poll dates were announced, after he apologised to the commission.

“I decided not to punish Pawar after studying the circumstances. I didn’t favour him,” Satyanarayan said on Wednesday.

Thackeray and Satyanarayan have been at loggerheads over many issues. It began when the SEC verified an interview of Thackeray’s, in which he allegedly made inflammatory remarks. While Thackeray was given a clean chit, he hit out at the commission for being “lenient” with Pawar. He also questioned other SEC decisions.